The dimension of orthomodular posets constructed by pasting Boolean algebras

The main aim of this paper is the calculation of the dimension of certain atomic amalgams. These consist of finite Boolean algebras (blocks) pasted together in such a way that a pair of blocks intersects either trivially in the bounds, or the intersection consists of the bounds, an atom, and its complement.     

Fatty acid binding site of mitochondrial uncoupling protein UCP2 as probed by EPR spectroscopy of spin-labeled fatty acids

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of spin-labeled fatty acids was used to investigate their interaction withEscherichia coli-expressed human mitochondrial uncoupling protein UCP2 refolded from inclusion bodies in nonaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C₁₂E₉) micelles. 5-DOXYL-stearic acid and 4-PROXYL-palmitic acid bound to UCP2 exhibited additional clearly separated h_+1I, h_?1I “immobile” peaks in the low- and high-field region, respectively, separated by 42 and 44 Gauss, and extensively reduced h_+1M, h_?1M “mobile” peaks, separated by about 30 G, whereas with 7-DOXYL-stearic acid the I and M peaks were smoothed together into one wide peak. Competition of 4-PROXYL-palmitic acid with added palmitic acid, arachidonic acid, and all-cis-8,11,14-eicosatrienoic acid and of 7-DOXYL-stearic acid with arachidonic acid was indicated by the disappearance of the h_+1I, h_?1I “immobile” peaks, whereas redistribution in micelles without protein was indicated by the rising of the h_+1M, h_?1M “mobile” peaks. In conclusion, a competition of palmitic, arachidonic, and eicosatrienoic acid within a putative fatty acid binding site was observed for mitochondrial uncoupling protein UCP2. This finding together with the observation of EPR spectra of highly immobilized probes exclusively in the presence of the recombinant UCP2 suggest the existence of a fatty acid binding site on UCP2 which is a prerequisite of the fatty acid cycling mechanism as previously postulated for UCP1.     

Quantification of trace elements in human serum fractions by liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

On‐line coupling of LC and ICP‐MS has been used for fractionation and detection of species of Cu, Fe, I, Se and Zn in human serum. It has been shown that anion exchange chromatography provided better separation capability (both intra‐ and inter‐element) than size‐exclusion chromatography. The mobile phases for ion exchange chromatography consisted of Tris–HNO₃ buffer and ammonium salt (nitrate, acetate or formate). Formate was found to be the best mobile phase counter ion, enabling good chromatographic separation, and is acceptable for mass spectrometry too. The quantitative evaluation of element concentrations adhering to individual fractions was performed by the peak area normalization method. The repeatability of results ranged from 3 to 15% (depending on the element concentration level) and represented the main part of the result uncertainty. The accuracy of Cu and Zn fraction determinations was confirmed by comparison with the isotope dilution technique. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some covering properties in topological and uniform spaces

Recent progress in selection principles theory is discussed and is illustrated mainly by the Hurewicz covering property and its strong version, the Gerlits-Nagy property GN(*). Some results that have not been published elsewhere are given with proofs.     

Quantification problems in depth profiling of pwr steels using Ar+ ion sputtering and XPS analysis.

The oxide scales of AISI 304 formed in boric acid solutions at 300 degrees C and pH = 4.5 have been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling. The present focus is depth profile quantification both in depth and chemical composition on a molecular level. The roughness of the samples is studied by atomic force microscopy before and after sputtering, and the erosion rate is determined by measuring the crater depth with a surface profilometer and vertical scanning interferometry. The resulting roughness (20-30 nm), being an order of magnitude lower than the crater depth (0.2-0.5 microm), allows layer-by-layer profiling, although the ion-induced effects result in an uncertainty of the depth calibration of a factor of 2. The XPS spectrum deconvolution and data evaluation applying target factor analysis allows chemical speciation on a molecular level. The elemental distribution as a function of the sputtering time is obtained, and the formation of two layers is observed-one hydroxide (mainly iron-nickel based) on top and a second one deeper, mainly consisting of iron-chromium oxides.     

On the coherent inelastic processes in collisions of elementary particles with nuclei at ultrarelativistic energies

The coherent inelastic processes of the type a → b, which may take place in the interaction of hadrons and γ quanta with nuclei at very high energies (the nucleus remains the same), are theoretically investigated. Analytical formulas for the effective cross-section σ_coh(a→b) are obtained.     

Physics, mind, society: Back and forth

The life course of the physicist and biologist George Feher may be seen as an epitome of science of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Feher, a native of Slovakia, barely escaped Nazism and communism and became a scientist in the USA. The Nazi concentration camps and the communist gulags have become a symbol of the 20th century. This symbol stands here to pose a question: How the two totalitarian systems, fraught with irrationality, may have arisen and thrived in parallel with an unprecedented expansion of science, the paragon of rationalism? The question has become even more urgent in the 21st century. The Ground Zero, an empty spot left after the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001, has become the symbol of the entrance of humankind into the new millennium. We can do much, but we understand too little about who we are and what we are doing — this is a message that the two symbols convey about the precarious stage of our evolution. The second message concerns the role of artifacts, specifically scientific instruments, in the advancement of science. Human cultural evolution has been steadily progressing, in a form of a ratchet, only because artifacts have been continually evolving. Contrary to the common Popperian wisdom, the demarcation in science may not consist in the amenability to theoretical falsification, but rather in the amenability to instrumental grasping. Scientific instruments have empowered humans for impressive feats of manipulation with Nature and themselves. Knowledge arising in the course of autonomous evolution of artifacts may surpass the horizon of human understanding and grasping. New knowledge may still be power, but no longer the power of humans. We may need a revision of some fundamental ideas of European thought. Our understanding of the human mind may entirely reshape our comprehension of the nature of physical knowledge, and vice versa.     

An asymptotic theory of higher-order operator differential equations with nonsmooth nonlinearities

We develop an asymptotic theory of nonlinear operator differential equations of an arbitrary order in Banach spaces. The nonlinear part of the equation is written in a divergent form. It is shown that the main term in an asymptotic representation of solutions at infinity satisfies a finite-dimensional dynamical system perturbed by a small nonlocal operator.     

JET: Preparing the future in fusion

JET (Joint European Torus) is the largest tokamak in the world and the only fusion facility able to operate with Tritium, the fusion fuel, and Beryllium, the ITER first wall material. JET also features the most complete remote handling equipment for invessel maintenance. As a multinational research center, JET provides logistic experience in preparing for operation of the global facility, tokamak ITER.Experiments on JET are focused on ITER-relevant studies, in particular on detailing the operational scenarios (EL My H-modes and advanced regimes), on enhancing the heating systems, on developing diagnostics for burning plasmas etc. Pioneering real-time control techniques have been implemented that maximize performance and minimize internal disturbances of JET plasmas. In helium plasmas, ion cyclotron heating (ICRH) created fast α-particles, mimicking their populations in future burning plasmas. The recent successful Trace Tritium campaign provided important new data on fuel transport. Current enhancements on JET include a new ITER-like ELM-resilient high power ICRH antenna (7 MW) and over twenty new diagnostics that will further extend the JET scientific capabilities and push the facility even closer to the ITER parameters.A special mention is given to the involvement of the fusion experts from Association EURATOM-IPP.CR, who have been actively participating in the collective use of JET facility for more than three years.     

Causality, Poincaré Invariance, and Goldstone Theorem in DLCQ

We study three problems of the light-front field theory quantized in a finite volume with fields (anti-)periodic in x⁻: (a) microcausality by deriving an integral representation for the discrete Pauli-Jordan function; (b) surface terms violating Poincaré algebra; (c) a LF version of the Goldstone theorem. The first two problems are resolved by careful mathematical treatment. The third one illustrates the usefulness of DLCQ as an analytical scheme.